"The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys… Read More »1965: Vatican II Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes (‘Joys and Hopes’)
"It begins, I think with that act of recognition. Recognition that it was we who did the dispossessing. We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life.… Read More »1992: Redfern Speech by Prime Minister Paul Keating
Celebrate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by reading a simplified version or the illustrated booklet of the Declaration, or watching the Declaration in sign languages.
Catherine McAuley was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1778. In 1824 she used her inheritance from an Irish couple she had served for twenty years to build a large House… Read More »1831: Founding of Sisters of Mercy by Catherine McAuley
The Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (NTA) is a law passed by the Australian Parliament that recognises the rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in land and waters… Read More »1993: Passage of Native Title Bill by the Australian Senate
At the end of the 19th century, Australian colonies had concerns about who was migrating to Australia. With a rise in the number of migrants from China and the Pacific,… Read More »1901: Enactment of Immigration Restriction Act (White Australian Policy)
In The Wik Peoples v The State of Queensland & Ors; The Thayorre People v The State of Queensland & Ors HCA 40 ('Wik'), the High Court held that native… Read More »1996: Wik High Court decision
"Pope John Paul II’s 1987 social encyclical Sollicitudo rei Socialis marks the twentieth anniversary of Populorum Progressio. Sollicitudo rei Socialis is also known by the English title On Social Concerns. It was the first major Catholic… Read More »1987: Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (‘On Social Concerns’)
The Grameen Bank was founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh. In 2006 he won a Nobel Peace Prize for this work. The Grameen Bank, known as the 'bank for… Read More »1977 First loans offered by Grameen Bank